CSI NY SMacked What started out as friendship
by SMackedFan
Summary: A SMacked story that takes place after the season 5 finale left off. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Season 6 opens with Mac sitting in a hospital room.

"All stitched up, you're as good as new" the Doctor said.

"Thanks..." Mac said in a slightly groggy voice.

"Now, detective Taylor, that bottle hit you pretty good, you're lucky you don't have a concussion. Just try and get some rest tonight, and the headache should go away by the morning, okay?"

"Of course, thanks Doc."

Mac picks up his jacket and walks down the corridor towards the waiting room. The large hallway seems endless, or maybe he just wants it to be endless because he knows what awaits him at the end. Mac finally reaches the waiting room, where he finds Flack, Hawkes, and Stella waiting anxiously. Flack looks terrible, like he hasn't slept in weeks. Hawkes looks like his mind is going a mile a minute. You can see in his eyes he's already trying to understand what happened earlier this evening. And then, there was Stella. She's been through it all, she is a pillar of strength, but not tonight... Tonight was different. She hides it well though, as she caringly places a hand on Flacks shoulder to ensure him that everything would be alright.

"You okay?" Stella asks, as she notices Mac.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Any word from Danny yet?"

The team hangs their heads slightly and Stella shakes her head.

Suddenly Danny walks from around the corner. The team raise to their feet and stand in silence, waiting for Danny to say something... anything.

"She.. " his voice shakes as he tries to get the words out "She's gonna be okay. The doctors say she's gonna pull through. She's in the ICU now, resting, but she's stable"

"Oh Danny, thank God!" Stella cries as she runs to Danny and throws her arms around him. She lets go of her embrace and puts her hands on both of his shoulders "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks Stell. Really, thank all of you guys for staying here for us. It means a lot."

Mac stands up and walks over to Danny and pats him on the back "Thanks Mac. You guys should get going though, you're gonna need your rest cuz tomorrow you start processing that bar, and you're gonna find the cowards that did this to my wife!"

"Look, Danny, I'm fine. If you need me to stay..."

"No, no. But... oh wait—" Danny cringes slightly

"What?"

"it's Lucy. We left her with the nanny when we went out tonight, and I just wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her there overnight"

"Hey, what are godfathers for? Don't worry about it, stay with Lindsay. She needs you now. I'll stay with Lucy. She'll be fine. Stella, you can come back in the morning and stay with Lindsay so Danny can come home for a bit?"

"Mmmm hmm, of course" Stella said, nodding.

"Uh, are you sure you're okay to do that boss? You look pretty banged up."

"Its nothing. Practically a scratch."

"Yeah, I'm not buyin' it."

"Really, I'm fine. Stella, will you tell him I'm fine!"

"Don't worry Danny, I'll babysit Mac while he babysits Lucy" Stella says as she winks at Danny.

"Alright, alright. Thanks again Mac, I really appreciate it."

The team say their goodbyes to Danny and walk into the dark parking lot.

A few steps away from Stella's car, Mac stops in his tracks and turns his head to look around. He can hardly see anything from the few dim lights that surround the Angel of Mercy hospital parking lot. "Something wrong Mac?" Stella asks, with a puzzled tone.

"No, no, I was just... looking for my truck. I forgot you drove me here"

Stella can tell when Mac is lying to her, but in light of tonight's events, and the stress he is under, she lets it go as they get into her car.

Mac is strangely quiet, as he stares intensely out the window the entire ride, thoughts racing through his mind.

"I know that look Mac..."

Mac turns his head to Stella "what look?"

"You're not going back to the crime scene tonight. You heard what Sinclaire said. We take tonight off, come back in the morning with clearer heads."

"You're right, you're right. I just..." Mac buries his face in his hands in frustration.

"Mac, we're gonna find them. We always do, right?"

Mac nods his head and goes back to staring blankly out the window, as they pull up to Danny & Lindsay's apartment.

Once inside, they relieve the nanny of her duties and Mac walks her to the door as Stella goes to check on Lucy, who is snuggled in her crib, fast asleep.

As the nanny leaves, Mac returns to the living room where he finds Stella.

"How is she?"

"Perfect. Sleeping. Like an angel" Stella says with a smile.

"Good, good. How 'bout some tea? I'll put some on."

As Mac makes his way to the kitchen, Stella can help but feel overwhelmed by the nights events. She thinks of Lindsay, lying in that hospital bed, Danny by her side, clenching her hand, and she thinks of Lucy, and what would happen to her if she lost her mother. She stands with her back against the wall and slinks down to the floor.

A few moments later Mac returns to the room and notices her sitting on the floor. He lets out a soft sigh, and as Stella notices him walking towards her she starts wiping the few tears that she had shed.

Mac slinks down the wall and sits beside her. He looks at the floor, as he tries to figure out something to reassuring to say to her.

"You know, Stella..."

"Its not fair Mac!" she interupts suddenly. "I know what its like! I know what its like to lose your mother! I was empty Mac, and just seeing Lucy tonight, and just thinking, what if..."

"Hey, hey. Shhhhh" Mac puts his arm around Stella and grabs her shoulder. "It's alright, okay? Stella. Look at me." Mac takes his finger and tilts Stella's chin up to look at him. "She's going to be alright, okay? Trust me."

Stella nods her head slowly as the last tear rolls down her cheek. "I know Mac, I think... I think I must just be tired. I'm sorry"

"Hey, don't be sorry. We're all going through this okay? Together. We're a team right?"  
"Of course" Stella says, letting out a slight smile.

"We have to be strong now, for Danny, and Lindsay, and Flack. But you know I'll always be here for you, alright?"

"I know Mac" she laughs at herself as she wipes her tears away with her sleeve. "Thank God your okay, where would I be without you?"

"Hey," Mac chuckled "you didn't think you could get rid of me that easy did you?"

Stella laughed again and playfully grabbed the top of Macs hand. Mac smiled at Stella and their eyes met for a brief moment before Stella looked away to the floor. Mac flipped his hand over so that Stellas hand slipped into his and their fingers clenched. She looks back up to Mac and smiles again. "You're sure your okay?" Mac asks. "Yeah".

"Well, I guess we should get some rest huh?" Mac says as he gets up from the floor. "Come on, I'll help you up" Mac takes both of Stellas hands and pulls her up on her feet. She laughs as he pulls her up and she starts losing her balance. Mac throws his arms around her waist to keep her up "woah, woah" he says, now chuckling himself. He lets her go as she leans with her back agains the wall. He puts his arm up and rests his hand on the wall learning slightly in towards Stella. "oh, well, goodnight Stella"

"good night Mac."

He leans in and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. He pulls his head back slightly to see Stellas beautiful smile staring back at him, and suddenly something seems different. Their eyes lock and neither of them move for a few innocent moments. Stella stares into Mac's intense ocean blue eyes until she feels she can no longer look at them, she she begins to close her eyes. Mac begins to lean in closer to Stella and---

"wwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Mac quickly spins around to realize Lucy is awake. Both feeling completely ackward, Stella leans forward from the wall and is standing up straight again "I'll check on her!"

"no, its fine, I can get her. You should just get some sleep, I'm fine."

"o..okay" she replies as she turns towards a bedroom and quickly scurries towards it.


	2. Chapter 2

***Thanks for all the reviews guys ******** Sorry, this chapter will have to be kinda short, don't have a lot of time today, but I promise I will update more tomorrow ***********

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Once in the bedroom, Stella shuts the door and leans against it. _"what the hell was that?"_ she thinks to herself. Feeling completely mortified, she crawls into the bed and throws a pillow over her face and starts muttering to herself in Greek.

...

Stella tries to adjust her eyes as the bright sun gleams in through the bedroom window. She is slightly confused at first by her surroundings when she wakes up in Danny & Lindsays bed. Finally she lets out a small groan and looks at her watch.

"_6:15! Why didn't Mac wake me up?"_ she wonders.

She leaves the bedroom and wanders into the living room where she finds Mac, fast asleep on the sofa with Lucy also asleep, lying on his chest. She can't help but smile as she watches the 2 of them, Mac's hand holding onto Lucy's back to keep her safely nestled as she drools onto his white t-shirt. _"poor Mac, Lucy must've kept him up pretty late. Its not like Mac to sleep... well, at all, let alone past 6am!" _Stella didn't want to wake them, partly because of how peaceful they looked, but mostly because she wasn't ready to handle the awkwardness that will inevidably face them today.

Stella quietly makes her way towards the front door and slips outside without waking them.

....

"Mac...Mac!" Mac is half asleep, but manages to open one eye as he looks around the room.

"Danny! Hey!" Mac whispers as he sits up while trying not to wake Lucy who is still asleep on his chest. "How'd you get here? What time is it?"

"Its 7:30, Stella came to stay with Linds for a bit so I could come home and grab a shower and check on Lucy." Danny says as he walks towards the couch and Mac places Lucy in his arms.

"7:30?!? Why didn't she wake me up?"

"Beats me boss, you must've been pretty wrecked if you slept in that late, was my angel to blame for that?" Danny chuckles as he rocks his baby girl in his arms.

"Oh, no, no everything was fine. I was glad to do it. But next time I know to charge double" Mac laughs as he grabs his shirt off the back of a chair begins buttoning it up. "Listen, Danny"

-Danny interupts- "I know, you gotta go. I'm gonna drop Luc off with my mother, then I'll get back to the hospital and have Stell meet up with you at the crime scene, okay?" "

Alright. You call me the second Lindsay wakes up okay?"

"You bet. Thanks again Mac"

**______________________________________**

***More to come soon. Please review, let me know your thoughts XD***


	3. Chapter 3

****Okay, okay, you guys win. After all the nice reviews I received when I got home tonight, I decided to reward you all with a new chapter before I went to bed. Again, its kind of short. Will update more tomorrow night ************

**________________________________________**

After a quick shower, Mac headed in to the lab, anxious to start work. Upon his arrival, he is greeted by his over-eager team members who are gathered anxiously outside his office.

"Morning boss. Got you a coffee. Black, with 2 sugars right?" Adam was the first to speak up.

"Someone's looking for some field work I take it..." Mac says to Adam as he takes the coffee from him. "Don't worry Adam, we're gonna need all the help we can get, processing the bar through all of that broken glass. You're in on this one."

"Yessssssssss!" Adam shouts as he raises his hands in victory, only to quickly shove his hands in his pockets and stare at the floor "I mean... thank you sir."

Mac shakes his head with a slight smirk on his face. "Alright, alright, I guess you're okay. How 'bout you Sid? I didn't see either of you after the ambulance left last night".

"Yeah, you know Mac, the wife, she worries."

"Uh huh, and what about you Adam? What happened to you?"

"Um... my uh, my mom worries. So..." Everyone lets out a laugh as they follow Mac into his office.

"Alright Alright" Mac begins, using a serious tone now. "We've got a lot of work to do, everyone. None of us are considered to be safe until we solve this case, and put the cowards responsible behind bars. Hawkes, you and Stella take the outside perimeter of the bar, and I want officers with you on every corner"

"You got it Mac."

"I mean it Sheldon. You don't even go to your truck for an extra evidence bag without an escort, understand me?"

"yeah, yeah, got it."

Hawkes is eager to dig into this case. He stands closest to the door of Mac's office, looking like he's waiting for a starting pistol to go off so he can race out the door to the crime scene. "Adam, you're with me, processing the bar." "

You got it boss. Whatever you need!"

"Alright guys, I don't think I need to stress the importance of this case. We take every precaution, and follow everything by the book. Theres a team of officers already on the scene so lets get to it. Hawkes, Stella will meet you at the scene. Adam, wait for me in my truck, I'll be right there."

The team exits Mac's office, except for Flack who stands in the corner, leaning against the wall.

"Look, Mac, you can spare me your pep talk, okay? I'm fine. Just anxious to get some answers, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me do my job"

"Don, I know you want answers, but you need to take care of yourself. I can assign another detective..."

"No. Absolutely not. I'm doing this."

"Don't you think you should get some sleep? Take a couple days to get yourself together?" Mac says in a sharp, but concerning tone.

"Sleep? Who are you to tell anyone to sleep. You haven't had a decent nights sleep since Claire died. Look, Mac, I'm sorry to bring it up, but if anyone understands what I'm going through here... Jess is gone, Lindsay is lucky to be alive, and I'm supposed to go home and twiddle my thumbs for a couple of days. This is supposed to HELP me? Cut me some slack here Mac. Did Sinclaire put you up to this?" Mac lets out a small sigh, confirming Flack's suspicions. "I knew it, that son of a... he told you to reassign me didn't he?"

"Yes, he did"

"And... What did you tell him?"

"I told him I'd make the call, whether or not you're ready to get out there"

"And...?"

"And, we better get going, we've got a case to solve." Mac swings open the door to his office and holds it open for Flack, who stops in the doorway before exiting the office

"Mac... I'm sorry, I know, you're just looking out for me. I shouldn't have said—"

"Hey, don't worry about it, come on, we've got work to do" Mac says as he places a hand on Flacks shoulder, leading him out of the office.

**_______________________________**

**More to come soon! Thanks for all the reviews, keep 'em comin! XD**


	4. Chapter 4

****Ok, I hope you guys are happy, now I've got CSI NY stuck on my brain 24/7 lol! Earlier today, while at work, I accidentally called my boss "Mac". I'm not even joking!!! Luckily for me, his name is Matt, so I don't think he really noticed, but I did! Lol. Anyway, here's another chapter to hold you over for now. I'll have a lot more time to write this weekend. Enjoy!****

[meanwhile, at the hospital...]

Stella sits next to the hospital bed where Lindsay lies, still asleep. The repetitive sound of the heart rate monitor next to her bed is enough to put Stella into a trance of her own thoughts. As her mind wanders in a thousand different directions she is so consumed in the events of the past 24 hours that she doesn't even hear Danny's footsteps as he makes his way into the room.

"Stell" Danny almost whispers, as he places his hand on Stella's shoulder.

"Danny!" Stella gasps, startled by his presence.

"Sorry I scared you. Where'd you go just now?"

"What do you mean?" Stella asks, confused.

"You looked like you were staring off into a distant galaxy or somethin before I walked in here. Something goin on?" Danny asks as he gives Stella a reassuring look, that she can tell him anything.

"Oh," Stella laughs "I'm fine. You know how your mind just likes to wander sometimes."

"Anything you wanna talk about?"

"No, no, it's nothing. I'm just so glad that Lindsay is going to be okay. Her doctor was in just a few minutes ago, he said they expect to her wake up anytime now, most of the sleeping aids they gave her should be wearing off by now."

"Good good" Danny sighs with relief. "You know, I got it from here, if you need to go."

"I've gotta meet Hawkes at the scene. Are you sure you're gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, don't worry about us. I'll call you when I know something. And thanks for stayin with her Stell."

"Of course Danny" Stella smiles as she embraces Danny.

[Stella exits]

Danny sits at Lindsays bedside with his hands folded, and his chin resting on his knuckles.

"wake up, sleepy head" Danny jokes, as he watches his wifes chest raise up and down with every breath she takes. "So, Lucy was asking about you this morning... Okay, okay, she didn't _'ask'_ persay, but she made some cooing noises, which I translated as _'I miss mommy.'_ She's pretty smart you know, our little angel" Danny tries to hold back his tears, but is overwhelmed with emotions. He buries his face in his hands that are still lying on the bed and lets out a few sobs.

"....she gets that from my side of the gene pool, you know.." a faint whisper comes from Lindsay who is fighting to open her eyes more than half way. Danny's head pops up like a jack-in-the-box, astounded to hear his wife's voice. Finally.

"Linds! Oh my God!" Danny gasps as he grabs onto his wife's head and puts his forehead against hers. "Oh, I was so worried! How are you feeling? Should I get the doctor? I'll get the doctor!"

"Danny!" Lindsays voice starts to return to a normal volume. "Its okay. Relax. Just stay here, and talk to me for a bit, okay?"

"Okay" Danny complies, as he takes both his hands and wraps them around his wife's hand.

[end scene]

Back at the crime scene...

Stella arrives on scene to be greeted by Hawkes, as well as a herd of "boys in blue" standing guard behind him. "Wow. Our crime scene comes with our very own entourage today I see" Stella jokes as she walks towards Hawkes.

"Strict orders from the boss" Hawkes quips as he shrugs his shoulders.

"Where is Mac anyway?" Stella asks, trying not to sound overly interested in the answer.

"Inside, processing with Adam, why? Is everything okay?"

"No, I mean, yeah, yeah everythings fine. I was just, wondering. Well, lets get to it. Where do you wanna start?"

"Well, I thought we'd start over on this corner, this is where I found the first shell casing" Hawkes starts to lead Stella down the narrow sidewalk , as what seems like an army of officers follow closely behind with every step.

"Are they for real?" Stella asks, slightly annoyed.

"Fraid so" Hawkes answers with a smirk. "Trust me, you get used to them" he says with a wink.

And before she knew it, Hawkes was right, they were snapping photos, placing evidence markers, checking tire mark impressions, and collecting shell casings while barely noticing the officers surrounding them.

Inside the bar...

"Taylor" Mac responds as he answers his cell phone. "Danny! Uh huh. Uh huh. Well, thats great news! Yeah, of course. Alright, I'll see you soon. Okay, bye." Mac tucks his phone inside his jacket pocket and turns to Adam "Lindsay's awake"

"Good, good." Adam sighs with relief. "What else did they say?"

"Well, she's gonna have to stay a few nights for observation, but they're convinced she'll make a full recovery"

"Thats great boss. Listen, I can finish up here, if you wanna head over there? I think I've picked through just about every shard of glass there is here anyway"

"Thanks Adam. I'll meet you back at the lab, do me a favor, get the ballistic reports from the bullet they took out of lindsay and compare them to ones we got here. Lets find out what kind of weapons we're dealing with, and hopefully narrow down a supplier"

"You got it boss".

Mac exits the bar and walks towards Stella and Hawkes who are just packing up their kits.

"Find anything?" Mac inquires.

"Well, we've got a good start here, I've got a lot of work ahead of me at the lab, but don't worry, I'm sure there's something here."

"Danny just called me, Lindsays awake"

"Mac, thats great! Can we see her?" Stella asks in anticipation.

"I'm heading there now. Come on, I'll give you a lift. Hawkes, you're okay to get this back to the lab? Adams heading back as well"

"Yeah, you got it. Hey, give Danny & Lindsay my best okay?"

"I will."

As Stella and Mac walk towards his truck, the mood changes to a much lighter one, as they feel the relief, knowing that Lindsay is out of the woods.

Stella starts to chuckles to herself...

"What is it?" Mac asks, starting to chuckle himself.

"Oh, I just wanted to introduce you to my entourage." Stella jokes as she leans in towards Macs shoulder, almost whispering. "The one behind you on your left, thats Marshall, and on your right is James"

Mac laughs and throws his head back slightly "Its for your own safety okay. Besides, kinda makes me feel like a rockstar..." Mac laughs as he flips up the collar of his shirt, and puts on his sunglasses.

Stella laughs as she playfully places a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head. "You wish Taylor".

They arrive at Macs truck and climb inside, still chuckling as they leave the scene.

****More to come tomorrow!! Let me know what you think XD****


	5. Chapter 5

"So..." _Stella tries to make the quiet car ride a little less awkward _"how was Lucy last night?"

Mac shrugs slightly "took me a while to get her settled down, but I didn't mind staying up with her, I was pretty wired anyway. By the way," Mac tilts his head towards Stella "why didn't you wake me up this morning?"

"_oh crap" _Stella thinks to herself _"why did I bring this up???"_ She quickly blurts out the first response that sounds logical "I just thought you could use the rest."

"Fair enough" Mac says as Stella breathes a quiet sigh of relief and looks out the window of the truck.

As they arrive at the hospital after what seems to Stella like the longest car ride ever, they climb out of the truck, and make their way towards the front doors. Stella anxiously walks towards the door with hurried steps, as Mac takes his time, covering every inch of the parking lot with his eyes. The uneasy feeling in his gut won't rest until he solves this case. "You comin'!?" Stella's voice knocks him out of his daze. "Yeah..." Mac nods as he hops up the last two steps to the doors of the hospital.

Once inside Stella wastes no time to get to Lindsay's room. As they near the last corner of the hallway before Lindsay's door, Macs cell phone begins to ring. Mac reaches inside his jacket and grabs his phone. He turns away from Stella and in a quiet voice, as to not disturb the patients of the hospital, responds "Taylor. ... Flack, hey. One second." He turns back to Stella and covers the mouthpiece of the phone with his hand "Go ahead Stell; I'll meet you in there". Stella nods and continues towards Lindsay's door.

"Yeah, Flack, what d'ya got? ... Alright, well it's a start. Contact me as soon as you find anything else out. ... Alright, thanks." Mac returns his phone to the inside pocket of his jacket and takes the last few steps to Lindsay's door. He leans on the doorframe for a moment before going inside. He can't help but smirk as he watches Lindsay and Danny smile while Stella tells them the story of how she found Mac & Lucy this morning. "It was just the cutest thing, Lindsay" Stella beams.

"Yeah, you two owe me a new shirt by the way" Mac jokes as he makes his way into the room. "How are you?" Mac asks Lindsay as he walks up next to her bed and places a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay... And thank you so much for staying with Lucy Mac. And you too Stella."

"No problem" they both reply at the same time, letting out a slight chuckle afterwards.

"See Linds, I told ya we didn't need to hire a nanny, we got 'uncky Mac' and 'auntie Stella' right here" Danny laughs. "Just kiddin, just kiddin. Hey Mac, I was just gonna grab a coffee, you wanna come with?" Danny asks, raising an eyebrow at Mac.

"Sure Danny"

[The two men exit, leaving Lindsay and Stella in the room to continue with their 'baby banter']

As Mac and Danny walk down the long hallway towards the small coffee bar, Danny stops, places his hands on his head and runs his fingers through his hair as he looks at Mac with angst. "So, what do we know?"

"Uh..." Mac lets out a sigh. "Not a whole lot. Yet. But we will. I've got Adam & Sheldon back at the lab, and Flack is talking to a few witnesses. Nobody..." Mac sighs again "nobody is sayin too much yet, but he still has a few places to visit in the area. " The look of pain in Danny's eyes overwhelms Mac and prompts him to pull Danny into an embrace. Danny has been a rock for his family thus far, but the vulnerability he feels as he clutches onto Mac's jacket causes him to break down. Mac holds onto Danny tightly, and pulls his head down onto his shoulder. "It's okay Danny" Mac assures him, as he holds onto the back of his head. Tears fill Danny's eyes as he lets out a few quiet sobs.

After a few moments, Danny lifts his head while taking a step back from Mac. He wipes his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt, and clears his throat. "I'm sorry Mac" he apologizes, looking down to the floor and shaking his head slightly.

Mac nods to Danny and gives him a reassuring smirk "How 'bout that coffee? Come on, I'm buyin"

Danny chuckles and nods "Thanks Mac."

As they continue their walk towards the coffee bar, Mac drapes his hand across Danny's back, placing it on his shoulder. "We'll get 'em, Danny". Danny nods in agreement and they reach the coffee bar.

[end scene]

****Will update more tomorrow, promise XD****


	6. Chapter 6

Mac and Danny reach the doorway of Lindsays room, Stella sits in the chair next to Lindsays bed and they laugh as Lindsay finishes a story about Lucy. "She's lucky to have you for a mother" Stella says, grabbing onto Lindsays hand.

"I think we're the lucky ones" Lindsay smiles, as she notices Danny walk into the room.

"Alright you two, lets break up the love fest" Danny laughs.

"Oh right, what were you guys talking about?" Lindsay asks, confident that she already knows the answer.

"baseball." Both Mac & Danny reply at the same time. They turn to eachother, each with a smug look on their face, glad they came up with the same answer.

"Yeah, right..." Lindsay scoffs.

"Well," Stella begins, as she stands up from the chair, "I guess we'll give you two some time alone." She winks at Lindsay and heads towards the door.

Mac nods in agreement, and says goodbye to Lindsay and Danny.

Once outside the hospital room, Stella immediately questions Mac "How's Danny holdin' up?"

"He's strong" Mac sighs. "I'm proud of him, he's exactly where he needs to be, being there for his family. The old Danny Messer would've been busting down doors, and interrogating every thug he could get his hands on by now. Lindsay and Lucy are the best thing thats ever happened to him."

"Speaking of Lucy..." Stella, with a smirk on her face as she raises an eyebrow at Mac.

"what?" Mac asks curiously.

"Well, I told Lindsay we would bring Lucy down here for a little bit... She really misses her Mac! She wants to see her. We won't keep her here long, just a little visit." Stella says, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Mac, as if he's already said 'no'.

"...Alright." Mac finally responds.

"Really?!" a shocked Stella replies. "She'll be so happy!" She squeals as she runs towards Mac and throws her arms around his neck and squeezes him.

"Ugph!" Mac gasps as he catches Stella.

"I think it'll do her good anyway" Mac chuckles as they let go of eachother. They exchange smiles, and continue to make their way to the exit.

[end scene]

A short while later, Mac & Stella return to the hospital with Lucy.

Danny is lying next to Lindsay in her bed, stroking her hair, and trying to keep his tired eyes open.

"Knock knock" Stella says as she taps on the door frame. "Somebody missed you!" she exclaims as Mac holds up the carseat to show Lindsay her daughter.

"My little princess!" Lindsay gasps. "I missed you too!" She looks to Stella and mouths the words _'thank you' _to whichStella responds with a slight nod and a smile.

Carefully placing the carseat on a table, Mac reaches in and picks up his beautiful goddaughter. He rocks her for a moment before placing her in Lindsays arms. Lindsay chuckles at herself as a tear rolls down her cheek. Danny wipes it away with his thumb and kisses his wife on her forehead.

Mac and Stella stand back and grin as they watch the bittersweet moment between the Messer family. Danny's arm around Lindsay, as she holds her baby and beams a smile that could light up a room.

"Good idea Stell" Mac whispers as he puts his arm around Stella and pulls her in next to him. She leans her head on his shoulder and smiles.

"yeah" she whispers back.

Mac places his hand around Stella's waist and they continue to admire Lindsay and her family.

[a short time later]

"Attention" a loud voice comes over the speaker throughout the hospital corridors "Visiting hours are now over". The last hour seems to have flown by for Danny and Lindsay as Mac stands up from the chair at the end of Lindsays bed "I guess thats our que" he states, looking at Stella.

"Ohhhh" Lindsay whines. "Okaayyyy" she says reluctantly as she kisses her baby one last time on the head. She passes Lucy to Mac who tucks her into her carseat, trying not to wake the already sleeping child.

"I'll be back first thing in the morning, okay?" Danny assures Lindsay, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you" she responds and lies her head back down on her pillow. "Get some sleep tonight mister!"

Danny smiles back at her and picks up the carseat as he follows Mac and Stella out of the room.

Once outside the hospital doors, Mac and Stella turn to Danny to say goodnight. "Thanks again you guys" Danny smiles "you really cheered her up."

"Glad to do it" Stella replies, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're okay to get home?"

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight guys."  
"Goodnight Danny".

Now inside Mac's truck, the ride home is much more relaxed this time. The two chat about their day, and 'talk shop' as they share they're findings about the crime scene. As they reach closer to Stella's apartment, and the talk about the case grows more intense, Stella now begins to worry because she realizes they aren't any closer to catching these men that terrorized her 'family' the previous evening. They reach her building and Stella stares out the window, closely watching a black sedan that creeps by the entrance way. The car rolls to a stop and the door opens, as a man dressed in black pants and a white collared shirt steps out of the car. He steps up the sidewalk and passes the keys to an elder woman who stood by waiting. "_just the doorman!" _Stella assures herself, feeling silly _"get it together"_.

"Something wrong?" Mac asks, raising an eyebrow at Stella who seems to be off in her own world.

"What? ..." She responds eventually. "Oh, no" Stella laughs "I'm fine. Thanks for the ride Mac."

She goes to exit the car, when Mac pipes up "Stella! Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, just tired is all." She replies with a slight smile.

"Okay..." Mac responds, not convinced with her answer.

Stella closes the door to the truck and makes her way into the building. Mac waits outside and watches to be sure she gets in okay. Once he sees her make her way into the elevator he looks back to the road ahead of him, and puts his truck into gear and rolls away slowly from the building.

Inside Stella's apartment, she sits anxiously at the edge of her couch. Holding a hot much of tea, cupped in both hands. She taps her fingers against the mug, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts. After a few short moments she swiftly stands up from the couch. _"I can't stay here"_ she thinks to herself. Unaware of where she's going to go at this late hour, she decides to worry about that later as she slips on her shoes and swings open the door.

Stella is startled when she opens the door and lets out a deep gasp. "Mac!" she exclaims, as he too with a surprised expression on his face, lowers his hand that was about to knock on Stella's door. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I'm a detective. I can tell when someone's lying to me" He says with a smirk as he grabs her jacket from the coat rack beside her front door. "Come on, we'll go back to the lab and see what Sheldon and Adam came up with". Stella nods as Mac wraps her jacket around her shoulders for her and they head towards the elevator.

****Just like Mac to always be there for Stella when she needs him huh? XD**

**More to come soon! Tell me what you think so far :D****


	7. Chapter 7

Stella has to blink several times to get her eyes used to the light that is beaming in through the window. Slightly groggy; she rubs her eyes, then stretches her arms out in front of her. The air is cold and she reaches down for her blanket to pull it up to her neck. As she pulls on the fabric, she realizes she has no blanket; instead a dark coloured suit jacket covers her. Slightly confused, and still fighting to open her eyes all the way, she begins to sit up as she notices she had slept on a sofa, and was still wearing the same clothes from the previous night. She takes a look around and realizes where she is. Macs office.

"Good morning Sunshine!" Stella is startled to hear Macs voice from behind her. He stands at the doorway to his office holding two coffee mugs in his hands.

Scratching her head Stella finally manages to verbalize her thoughts "I fell asleep? ..."

"Nothing gets past you detective..." Mac laughs as he walks towards her "thought you could use this" he says, still chuckling, as he hands her one of the steaming mugs.

"What time is it?" she asks after taking a long sip of her coffee.

"About 10 after 6"

"Ugh." Stella sighs as she throws her head back onto the sofa. "Don't you ever sleep Taylor?"

Mac raises an eyebrow at Stella "What is with everybody's obsession with my sleeping habits?" he scoffs. "Some of us just have better things to do you know" he laughs.

"There's something wrong with you.." Stella jokes as she shakes her head and chuckles.

Mac shrugs a shoulder and opens the door to his office to exit "well, I'm gonna hit the locker room and take a shower"

"Mac, wait!" Stella interrupts before he can leave.

He stops and turns back towards her.

"I just wanted to say, thanks. For coming back for me last night."

"Well, you know what they say, misery loves company" Mac laughs. "Besides, what else am I gonna do while I'm _**not**_ sleeping"

Stella just laughs and nods her head.

Mac smiles at her and exits the office.

Now alone in Macs office, Stella sits on the edge of the sofa and finishes her coffee. She reaches over beside the couch and grabs the yellow case files that are piled neatly on the table and sets her empty mug down. She begins to flip through the pages, now beginning to remember that she had started reading these last night. Disappointed with the lack of evidence and suspect leads in the information the team had gathered so far, she tosses the folder back onto the table "no wonder I fell asleep".

She stands up from the couch and looks down at her wrinkled clothes _"I must look like crap!"_ she thinks to herself. She exits Macs office and makes her way towards the locker room.

She opens the door to the locker room and turns down to the row where her locker is. She stops in her tracks once she turned the corner. Mac stood at his locker, which was directly across from Stella's. He had not finished changing; he was wearing only his pants and had a towel in his hand. He rubbed the towel through his hair, and across the back of his neck. She watched him for a moment as a bead of water dripped from his hair onto his chest and slowly made its way down to his abdomen.

"Oh! I'm sorry" Stella eventually blurts out as she puts her hand on her forehead in embarrassment and looks to the floor.

Mac laughs "for what?"

Stella pops her head back up as she thinks to herself "_yeah, for what? I've had the locker across from him for over 10 years now; this wouldn't be the first time I saw him without a shirt on"_

"Ugh, don't mind me" Stella scoffs as she shakes her head "I think I'm just tired" she says, trying to sound convincing.

Mac laughs again as he pulls his black t-shirt over his head. Stella becomes entranced again as she watches him pull the shirt down and it hugs against his chiselled abs.

"Well, the place is all yours" Macs voice pulls her out of her own thoughts, as he throws his towel in a large black bin and exits the locker room.

Stella leans her back up against her locker and puts her head back, looking to the ceiling. _"Snap out of it Stella"_ she thinks to herself, feeling silly that she's acting like she's in high school again.

In the shower, and alone with her own thoughts again, her mind begins to wander. _"What has gotten into me? Where did these feelings come from?" _

The hot shower did her good. She put on clean clothes, sat on the edge of the bench near her locker, and her mind was beginning to clear again. She writes her feelings off as 'emotional stress', and nothing else. After all, in the last couple weeks her life had been in serious jeopardy twice. Once in Greece, where Mac had put himself in harms way to protect her, and again 2 nights ago. She can hardly remember what happened that night, everything happened so fast. She remembers hearing the sound of glass shattering all around her, she fell to the floor and threw her arms over her head. The next thing she remembered was hearing tires screeching, as she brought her head up to see that Mac was hovered over her, to shield her from the flying bullets.

She takes solace in the fact that she has a good friend like Mac, and convinces herself that friendship is all she ever wanted from him, and all he ever wanted from her.

[end scene]

****Is she really convinced? I don't think so! ;)**

**More to come soon. Leave some reviews XD****


	8. Chapter 8

****Thanks for all the great reviews! You guys are awesome! This is my very first fan fiction writing, so I'm happy to get such a nice response from all of you ******** I've been super sick the last couple days, so reading the nice comments you leave has been lifting my spirits! So thanks guys!****

[The following takes place a few days from when we last left off]

Mac sits at his desk, pondering to himself as he stares out of his window. He taps his fingers on his desk; it has a calming effect on him, helping him concentrate.

"Mac..." His thoughts are interrupted as Stella enters his office.

"Hey" He says softly

"You look terrible"

"Well, it's nice to see you too Stella" he scoffs

"When was the last time you slept?"  
"I'll sleep when the case breaks" he replies sharply.

"You're so grumpy when you're tired!" She laughs

Mac can't help but flash a quick smirk. He knows she's only looking out for him. "Alright, alright. What do we know? Did you find anything in that sedan Flack found last night?"

"Torched I'm afraid. No viable evidence"

Mac puts his hand to his head in frustration as he stares down at his desk.

"Hey... We're gonna find something. We will" Stella reassures him as she walks over to his desk and places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know" Mac replies, placing his hand on top of hers.

"Well, Lindsay gets to come home today, so I was gonna go down to the hospital and drive her and Danny home" She says as she makes her way towards the door.

Mac smiles as he watches her leave the office. Stella smiles as well as she makes her way down the hall. She's glad to have her best friend back.

...

"Taylor" Mac quickly answers his phone before it has a chance to ring a second time. "I'll be right there". He hangs up his phone, grabs his blazer from the back of his office chair and throws it on as he makes his way out of his office.

"Adam, what d'ya got?" Mac inquires as he enters the a/v lab.

"A Global Positioning System" Adam replies

"GPS. Ok. From where?"

"That sedan that Flack found last night, well even though they torched the car and everything in it, luckily for us, they had a state of the art GPS device. It was too destroyed to turn on, but I did manage to get the serial number from inside it. I was able to get in touch with somebody at the home office in Germany, and they could track the last route it was used for."

"And?..." Mac is intrigued as he raises an eyebrow.

"And, there you go" Adam smiles with confidence as he turns the computer screen towards Mac, revealing a map. "See, theres where the route ended, at the bar, and this is where they started" Adam points on the screen.

"Dunbrook!" Mac exclaims, furiously. "I should've known he was behind this!"

[_Mac has a flashback of the last time he saw Dunbrook, he was leaving Mac's office as he turned to him and said "Now, you be safe, alright" with a smug smile on his face.]_

Mac runs to the door to exit the lab, yelling back at Adam "Call for back-up Adam, get them to meet me and Flack at the scene!"

"Okay... You're welcome, by the way. Great job you say? Oh, no need to thank me boss, just doing my job" Adam mumbles to himself.

Mac runs through the halls of the lab and reaches the elevator. He pushes the button several times in anticipation, as if this will make it come faster. Finally the elevator reaches his floor, and the doors open up, revealing Stella alone in the elevator. "Mac? Are you okay?"

He hurries into the elevator and pushes the 'Lobby' button. "We found 'em Stell." He proclaims, nearly out of breath. "It was Robert Dunbrook. He sent his thugs after me. I'm heading there now."

As the elevator reaches the bottom floor, Mac exits with Stella following closely behind him. He stops and turns towards Stella "wait here" He says in a demanding tone.

"What?!" Stella's eyes widen.

"Look" Mac begins, placing his hands on Stella's shoulders "I would just feel a lot better if you stayed here. It's not safe".

"Are you kidding me?" she asks, slightly enraged. "Mac, I'm a police officer. Just like you. We both took the same oath, to protect this city. I'm going!"

"Look, Stella, I don't have time to argue with you right now!"

"Good. Cuz neither do I" Stella storms off, heading towards the exit of the building.

Mac shakes his head and chases after her. She's stubborn, but that's who she is. He should have known he wouldn't be able to keep her from going. He finally catches up and pulls his phone from his pocket. "Flack, it's me. Yeah, we found 'em. We've gotta get to Dunbrook's office. Stella and I are headed there now. Back up is en route" He glares slightly at Stella as they climb into his truck and speed off.

They reach Dunbrook's building and are greeted by Flack when they arrive. "The guys from the other night, they were hired by Dunbrook" Mac explains to Flack as he gets out of the truck. "Adam traced their GPS to this building."

The three of them remove their guns from their holsters as they make their way into the building. As they get inside, Mac notices Dunbrook ahead of him, walking towards an elevator. "DUNBROOK!" Mac shouts, raising his gun.

"Detective Taylor..." Dunbrook says smugly, before even turning around to face Mac.

"Turn around, and place your hands on your head. Slowly!"

Dunbrook raises his hands in the air, places them on the back of his head, and turns around. "Taylor, you better have a damn good reason for this"

"How about attempted murder of a crime scene investigator?"

"Are you nuts? You think I had something to do with that? Where's your proof?"

"Oh trust me, I've got all the proof I need. Besides how long do you think it'll take me to get your thugs to rollover on you? The D.A. is gonna have a field day with this. Let's go Dunbrook" Mac walks up behind him, slowly bringing his arms down and cuffs him. "I knew it was only a matter of time before I put you away". Mac grabs Dunbrook with one hand clutching the back of his jacket, and the other on his cuffed hands, as he leads him out of the building.

As they head outside and Mac puts Dunbrook into a squad car, he looks at Flack "Get a hold of Connor Dunbrook, bring him into interrogation. He'll tell us who we need to talk to."

"You got it Mac" Flack complies as he gets into his car.

****Well, the case is solved, what awaits for Mac & Stella? Find out soon!!**

**PS- Sorry if you're disappointed with how quickly the case got wrapped up, I know I didn't really write much about the investigation, but to be honest I wouldn't know what to write, lol. Besides, I figure you're reading this for the SMacked storyline, not for technical crime scene jargon. XD****


	9. Chapter 9

The ride back to the lab is again, another uncomfortable one. Still feeling uneasy about their fight earlier, they both remain silent through most of the drive. Mac eventually lets out a heavy sigh and breaks the silence; "Look, Stella... I'm sorry if I was a little overbearing back there."

"A little?!" Stella scoffs.

"Hey, I was just looking out for you!" Mac snaps back at her.

"Well maybe I don't need you to protect me all the time, okay? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"Really?" Mac asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. You know what? It's you. You feel the need to show up on your white horse all the time to protect me, and I just turn into this vulnerable mess. That's not who I wanna be, Mac"

"Stella..." Mac voice is softer now. "It's okay to be vulnerable sometimes"

"Well apparently not, because you seem to think it will affect my job performance. I'm a detective Mac, and a damn good one. And I don't need you feeling sorry for me all the time." Stella huffs, refusing to look at Mac, as she stares out the window.

"Look, Stella, I'm your friend."

"Well maybe its time you just start acting like my boss, instead of my friend. Maybe I don't need you to be my friend all the time!" She says as crossly as she folds her arms across her stomach and remains staring out the window.

Mac can hardly believe these words are coming out of her mouth. He feels a hard lump in his throat as he tries to swallow. And, being the stubborn Mac Taylor we all know and love, he decides not to try and rationalize with her anymore, and concentrates on the road ahead of him.

They arrive back at the lab and without speaking a word to eachother they both exit the truck and go their seperate ways as Stella heads towards her car and Mac goes inside the building.

[A few hours later]

Flack enters Mac's office. Mac was just putting on his jacket, ready to call it a night.

"Hey Mac"

"Hey. Did you bring Connor Dunbrook in?"

"Yep"

"Well? Is he talking?"

"Are you kidding me?" Flack laughs "He's practically singin' about it. We've got more than enough on Dunbrook. He gave us a couple names too, of who came to the bar that night. I've got uniforms bringin them in now. All the high priced lawyers in the world won't protect him against Connor's testimony."

Mac puts his hands in his pockets and nods at Flack.

"Everything okay?" Flack questions.

"...yeah" Mac replies, hesitantly. "I'm just glad this is over."

"Mac... We just broke one of our biggest cases, and you look like someone just ran over your dog. What's goin on with you?"

"It's Stella... we got into a fight. She thinks I'm too protective of her, and its getting in the way of her doing her job."

"Look, Mac..." Flack lets out a soft sigh "Things have a way of getting pretty heated around here, and yeah, sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us. Thats when you need to step in as our leader, and decide who's fit to work the case or not. And honestly, I don't envy you for that. I know its tough. But you wouldn't do it if you didn't care about us, right?"

Mac nods slightly.

"I mean hey, you've always had my back. I know I don't always seem grateful at the time, but I am. Grateful." Flack says as he gives Mac a pat on the shoulder. "Stella will come around, she just needs to cool off. But she'll realize you were just doing what you thought was best for her."

"I hope your right" Mac says with a sigh.

"Well I've gotta get back to the station. But hey, you should get outta here and get some ---_he stops himself before he can say that dreaded word (sleep)—_a beer or something..."

"Nice recovery" Mac laughs

"Thanks." He winks.

Flack leaves the office as Mac chuckles and shakes his head.

[end scene]

Meanwhile at Danny & Lindsay's apartment, Stella helps them get settled in. Lindsay sits on the couch as a nervous Danny frantically runs around the apartment to get pillows and blankets to make his wife more comfortable. "Danny!" Lindsay says sternly. "Will you relax! You're making me tired just watching you!"

Stella can't help but chuckle to herself. "Seriously Danny, you need to tone it down, just a little."

"Alright, alright, you win" Danny replies, raising his hands in the air in defeat. He takes a seat next to her on the couch and places an arm around her.

Lindsay smiles as she leans her head onto Danny's shoulder.

"So, Mac must be pretty happy to finally take Dunbrook down huh Stell?" Danny inquires.

"Yeah... I guess..." She replies reluctantly.

"You guess? What's that about?"

"Oh, its nothing Danny, forget it." She shakes her head slightly.

"Stell... come on. Look who you're talkin to here. Tell me what's wrong."

"Mac and I... we got in a fight. I think I was a little harsh on him. I don't even know why I said half the things I said to him. I didn't mean it, but it's too late. He's furious with me now."

"Stella..." Danny begins as he grabs her hand "I love you guys, but you are both by far, the most stubborn people I know. So you got in a fight? Big deal. Just know Mac's a softy when it comes to you!"

Stella flashes a quick smile.

"Yeah, see? There. Just flash him that famous Bonasera smile, things will be back to normal in no time."

Stella sighs "I hope you're right".

"Only one way to find out..." Danny winks at her.

She pushes herself up from the couch and smiles.

"Atta girl!" Danny exclaims. "Go get 'em".

Once outside Danny and Lindsay's apartment Stella gets into her car and picks up her dials the number to Mac's office. She waits impatiently while it rings, and rings. _"hmmm, no answer. He must have left for the night"_ she thinks to herself. She picks up the phone again, this time dialing his cell number. Straight to voicemail. She sighs as she looks at her phone and tries one last number.

"Flack here" the voice on the other end answers.

"Flack, it's Stella. Listen, I'm looking for Mac, have you seen him?"

"Um, not for a good half hour or so. He was on his way out of the lab. He was pretty upset Stell."

"I know, I just... I just need to find him. Did he say where he was going?

"Beats me. He didn't say."

"Alright, well thanks anyway Flack." She flips her phone shut and puts it back into her purse. She runs her fingers through her hair in frustration when suddenly a revelation comes over her: _"I know where he is!"_ she thinks to herself, as she pulls away from the apartment building.

****Sorry to leave you hangin like this :P**

**More SMacked comin at ya soon!****


	10. Chapter 10

***Here it is: the FINAL chapter! Enjoy!***

"What'll it be detective? The usual?" A young woman asks Mac as she approaches his table.

"Please." Mac responds with a nod.

Mac sits alone at his favorite night club. It's a small jazz club he often visits, usually to play bass with the band. But there is no band tonight, just a jukebox playing a few feet away from his table. As he waits for his drink, he replays his fight with Stella over and over again in his head. He just can't figure out why she would say those things to him. He's always been protective of her, and he never meant to doubt her work as a detective. The last thing he would want to do is hurt her, but it seems he did. He wondered why things seemed so different between them recently. And why couldn't he get her out of his mind?

"Here you go detective!" the voice of the young waitress pulls Mac away from his thoughts.

"Thanks Jesse" He smiles.

"Why so glum tonight?" She asks

"Is it that obvious?" Mac laughs.

"Please I could tell the moment you walked in the door. So, what's got ya down? Woman problems?"

"You could say that..." He responds.

"Ahhh" an intrigued Jesse takes a seat next to him. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Oh, its just a stupid thing at work"

"mmmm hmmm. Well, if its a work thing, then why are you still so upset about it? You're off the clock now."

"It's about my partner. And I'm always on the clock for her. But apparently that's my problem." He replies as he swirls his drink around in the glass. The knot he feels in his stomach keeps him from drinking it as he places it back on the table and taps his fingers against the glass.

"Well I think it's sweet, you obviously care about her a lot" Jesse smirks.

"Yeah... I do." Mac sighs.

"Hey" Jesse perks up "Does your partner have long curly hair?"

"Yeah" Mac replies, confused. "How'd you know that?"

"Cuz a woman just walked in with that same heartbroken expression on her face that you have right now" As she points towards the door, revealing Stella who looks around the bar for Mac.

"Stella!?" A surprised Mac suddenly feels nervous as he sits up straight in his chair and clears his throat.

"Good luck detective" Jesse winks at Mac and stands up from the table.

Stella spots Mac and makes her way towards his table. "Is this seat taken?" She asks coyly.

Mac doesn't speak, only gestures for her to sit down. She sits down and they both remain silent for a moment.

"Look, Mac..." Stella begins. "I shouldn't have said those things earlier. I didn't even mean them, I don't know why I said it"

Mac nods his head slightly "Well, maybe you were right. I know I can be protective of you, but it's only because I care about you Stella."

"I know Mac. And I'm lucky to have you" she smiles.

"I just... I just don't know what I would do if something would've happened to you." His voice gets softer now. "I need you Stell."

Stella fights back a tear as she sees a vulnerable Mac, something she wasn't really used to. She wishes she could make him feel better, as he always did for her. "Wanna dance?" This was the first thing she could think of to cheer him up.

"Dance?" Mac asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, people do it sometimes, for fun. You remember what fun is right?" She laughs.

Mac laughs and nods his head as he stands up from his chair and extends his hand to Stella.

They reach the dance floor and turn to face each other. Stella stands a few inches away from him, placing one hand in his, and the other around his neck. Mac places his free hand around her waist and they begin swaying to the music.

"Hey, you're not so bad!" Stella laughs.

"What did you expect?" Mac inquires.

"To be honest, I don't know..." she chuckles.

The song abruptly ends and Mac looks over at the jukebox to find Jesse standing there. She punches a couple buttons and a new song begins. Mac gives her a confused look, and she winks at him.

It starts with a beautiful piano and Mac focuses on Stella again, gripping her hand a little tighter as the lyrics begin:

_I Can't fight this feeling any longer,_

_And yet I'm still afraid to let it go._

_What started out as friendship, has grown stronger._

_I only wish I had the strength to let it show._

Beginning to feel the emotions of the song, Mac pulls Stella closely against his chest. Stella starts to feel those familiar butterflies in her stomach that she felt the other night when they were at Danny & Lindsay's.

_I tell myself that I can't hold out forever,_

_I say there is no reason for my fear._

_Cuz I feel so secure when we're together,_

_You give my life direction, you make everything so clear._

Mac lets go of her hand and places it on her back, as she puts another arm around his neck and rests her head on his chest. She breathes in his intoxicating scent, and it makes her mind fuzzy. He feels an overwhelming closeness to Stella in this moment. His mind racing a mile a minute, as he feels his heart beating faster and faster in his chest.

_And even as I wander,_

_I'm keepin' you in sight._

_You're a candle in the window, on a cold darker winter's night._

_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might._

Stella pulls back slightly from Mac, as a tear rolls down her cheek. She tries to understand her feelings, and wonders if he feels any of the emotions she does. "Mac..." she lets out softly.

He wipes the tear from her cheek. "Don't cry Stella" he smiles as he lifts her chin up and leans in to her. He kisses her softly on the lips, only for a moment; then pulls back to look into her beautiful green eyes. Their eyes lock for a brief moment; the look across her face tells him she's hungry for more, and Mac feels he can't hold himself back any longer as he leans into her again. Suddenly they feel like the only two people on the planet as their lips touch and sparks fly as he slips his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her for the first time.

_And I can't fight this feeling anymore,_

_I've forgotten what I started fightin' for._

_It's time to bring this ship into the shore,_

_And throw away yours forever._

_Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore._

Years of repressed feelings begin pouring out of them while they remain locked in the passionate kiss, barely coming up for air.

Mac runs his hands through her long curls, as the kiss deepens. He can't believe this moment is finally happening.

Stella feels like she's floating on air as she clutches on to the back of his neck, keeping him as close as possible.

Finally, a whistle from an obnoxious patron of the club pulls them out of their own world and back to reality, as Mac releases her from the kiss. He remains close as he leans his forehead against hers, trying to catch his breath. "So, I guess you're not mad at me anymore huh?" He chuckles.

"Yeah, I think I'm over it" she laughs, as her smile widens.

"You wanna get outta here?" Mac asks with a smirk.

"Yeah!" an anxious Stella replies.

Mac grabs her by the hand and they make their way out of the club.

[As for what happens next, I'll leave that to your imagination. lol]

THE END

****Well, I hope you enjoyed my story! I really enjoyed writing it XD****

**[BTW, The song is "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" by REO Speedwagon. All rights belong to their respective owners, and blah blah blah. lol.]**


End file.
